Lips Like Morphine
by princess-chibiusa92
Summary: Alex and Justin have never gotten along. Even as step-brother and sister. Now what will happen when Justin has to stay with the Russo family for the entire school year? And why would Alex, a mortal, be invited to attend WizTech? - A school for Wizards?
1. Memory Lane

**AN: In this story, Jerry adopts Alex & Max – hence, their last names are already "Russo", respectively. Furthermore, I don't own WOWP or any of their characters!**

WARNING: I'm an Australian, so I really have no clue as to how the American school system works, as well as American geography and so forth. So please bear in mind with me if I mention something that sounds completely ridiculous to American ears lol.

Synopsis: Alex and Justin have never truly gotten along. Even as step-brother and sister. Now what will happen when Justin has to stay with the Russo family for the entire school year?

Title: Lips Like Morphine

Chapter One: Memory Lane

It had all started on an unusually dull, cloudy Tuesday morning:

'Didn't you hear? – Justin's coming to stay with us'

To the average person, the sentence seemed innocent enough. Really, it was just a simple, informative sentence. Nothing controversial. And nothing along the lines of unorthodox. But this particular sentence wasn't directed at someone who was _average_ – no, in fact it was quite the contrary really, because this sentence was directed at a person who was as far from average as possible. And it was directed on _purpose, _because the moment those simple, mediocre words had slipped from the depths of her younger brother's mouth, Alex Russo had paused in her current occupation of eating breakfast (peanut butter on toast), and stared at him in slight disbelief.

Had she hallucinated what he had just said to her? She cocked her head to the side in silent question. She knew there had been a smug undertone attached to it, and knew that Max – of all people, wouldn't apply any form of _smugness_ towards _her_ unless there was an underlying motive. And there always was a motive when it came to matters concerning _him_. And further so, if she had truly been hallucinating - which she thoroughly doubted up till this point – then why would she be hallucinating about _him_ of all people?

_Count Dorkula_.

She wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction. At this point she really needed a clarification. Thinking too much wasn't really her strong suit.

'What?'

Max coolly gazed across the kitchen bench towards his older sister, who was now staring at him with a strange, quizzical expression. It wasn't really what he was expecting her to say in response – because usually, she was faster than this, but he decided given the benefit of the doubt that he would cater to her unusual state of perplexity and take it slowly. 'Justin's coming to stay with us' he reiterated casually, watching with meticulous amusement as his sister's breakfast went from being the centre of her undivided attention to that of an discarded trash bag. It seemed she lost her appetite almost spontaneously.

He raised an eyebrow in question. 'He'll be here this Friday' he added pressingly, waiting for a provocative reaction of some sort. Alex wasn't usually the type of person who could be provoked so easily – in fact, she was so annoying she took the phrase "as stubborn as a mule" to a whole new three dimensional level. _However_, like most human beings, she did have one small weakness in her stubborn defence mechanism – a weakness that Max _j'adored_ to exploit on every odd blue moon that would sparkle entertainment for weeks to come: _Justin. _

'MOM!'

Perfect. Right on _cue._

It seemed everything had all started when Alex and Max's mom, Theresa, had married the Wizard, Jerry Russo, 7 years back in what was a modest, yet elegant wedding in the South of the Caribbean. It was there that the two younger Russo children unexpectedly found out for the first time that their step-father was indeed a Wizard – well, a former one at that given he'd just married a mortal (a major no-no in the magical community). It also happened to be where they met their elder step-brother for the first time. _Justin_.  
_  
_

x0x__

Flashback:

The wedding reception had been packed with old friends and relatives, who were either sporadically seated at their designated tables – some even joining others over on other tables, or standing huddled together with a glass of champagne held loosely in hand; entertaining one another with hilarious war stories and random, tipsy-inspired toasts to Theresa and Jerry – the bride & groom – who they hoped would find eternal happiness with one another, for they seemed utterly meant to be – cliché aside, of course.

'Hey, Alex' whispered Jerry as he leant down towards his 10 year-old step-daughter, who was currently a sulk in the midst's the whimsical atmosphere. Even as a 10 year-old, she wasn't the type of girl who liked to dress in pretty gowns and have her hair all dolled up and smile unconditionally at the camera. But she had been forced there against her will.

And Alex Russo wasn't one who liked being forced to do things. So what did one do when they didn't get what they want and all other measures of scheming failed? – Sulk.

For the past 2 hours at the reception, Alex had sat alone at the main table in her stubborn, brooding mood whilst her mother – tailed closely by her then-baby brother and grandparents, went diplomatically around the room thanking and socialising with all the reception guests. She really couldn't be in more pain to be there. She was being deprived of entertainment by the minute.

'Yeah?' she inquired with a bored tone, not bothering to spare a glance towards him

'I want you to meet somebody – he just managed to make it now' said Jerry excitedly, which seemed to capture Alex's attention for a second. She glanced at him curiously.

Momentarily, Jerry stepped aside to reveal a young boy around Alex's age; tall and gangly with jet black hair and blue-grey eyes. He seemed a little awkward to be in her presence, as he fidgeted nervously with his hands. Wait, was that a doll she saw in one of those hands?

'Alex – this is my son, Justin'.

Alex raised an eyebrow quizzically. 'Hi' she said bluntly in his direction, faking a smile 

__

He didn't say a word.

'Ah – well I'll let you two get acquainted, and I'll be back in a sec' said Jerry in a rushed tone after a minute or two of awkward silence, offering an encouraging smile towards Justin before leaving them alone. Justin stared nervously at the ground.

Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes. Could this guy be any weirder, or what?

'So, you collect dolls?' she asked casually, attempting to make conversation

Justin glared her. 'They're not dolls – action figures' he corrected sternly. Wow, so the dork spoke after all, Alex thought, annoyed at the sudden outburst

'They're dolls, dork' she argued grudgingly, eyeing him from the corners of her eye. His glare on her seemed to intensify. 'Action figures' he gritted stubbornly through clenched teeth, gripping his _doll __tighter. 'Whatever, dork' brushed off Alex, rolling her eyes._

Justin scowled. 'Are you always this annoying?'

'Are you always this dorky?' retorted Alex angrily, before proceeding to ignoring him

Whatever seemed to happen in the next few minutes between the two remained a mystery in the Russo family for the next 7 years as Jerry and Theresa dauntingly witnessed something that they had definitely – under any circumstances – had not planned in their wedding reception.

Alex, who was all sulky and broody only minutes ago, seated right at the back on the main table with a step-brother she had just met for the first time, screamed loudly as she was suddenly thrusted up into the air, up-side-down – yellow knickers showing and all. Justin remained standing in his spot on the ground, trying hard not to laugh.

'JUSTIN!' 

x0x

That was the first time Alex Russo had ever met Justin Russo. It also happened to be the first time she'd unwittingly found out that _he_ was a _Wizard_. And you thought you had skeletons in the closet. From then on, things didn't exactly go so smooth between the two of them, as Alex, being Alex, wasn't one to let go of a grudge so easily. And Justin, being Justin, wasn't one to rock the boat. Or was he…? It all happened in the summer of the next year:

x0x

_Flashback:_

_'Hey Alex, Maxie!' yelled Jerry excitedly, juggling an unsteady mobile between his chin and shoulders, yelling at them, and trying to make a Salami sandwich with his spare hands. Max came spiralling down the spiral stairs immediately; Alien comic books in tow. _

_  
'Yeah?' inquired Alex lazily, as she walked towards him, having just finished her ungodly shift at the Sub- Station._

'Guess what?'

'What?' asked Alex in a bored tone, crossing her arms. Max on the other hand, seemed quite excited for no particular reason. 'Are you friends with Aliens?' he asked, pointing out a picture of an odd looking creature on the cover of one of his comic books.

'Err, no Max, I'm not' replied Jerry stiffly, taking note that there were still customers in the restaurant 'It's Justin – he's coming over this weekend to spend a couple weeks'.

'What!' spat Alex angrily, feeling her left eye twitch 'The _dork __is coming to stay with us?'. Jerry gave her a hard, solid expression. Alex knew immediately she had touched an inner nerve in her step-father, and instantaneously regretted the words ever leaving her mouth. Once finished with the Salami sandwich, Jerry walked over to the sink, washed his hands, and said a few inaudible words into the mobile phone before promptly hanging up._

He then got around to handing out the sandwich to the patient customer who had ordered it before momentarily turning himself onto the two of them. He took a deep breath before he began. 'Okay, listen you guys – Alex, I understand that you and Justin have gotten off on the wrong foot –'

'Foot? What foot? – Justin's foot? – I didn't know he had a "wrong foot" –'interrupted Max cluelessly, scratching his head

' – AND I KNOW THAT HE MAY SEEM A LITTLE CHILDISH AT TIMES – ' cut over Jerry defiantly, before softening his expression ' – But he's my son. And I love him very dearly' he added sentimentally, glancing pointedly at Alex '– And I want him to feel loved and welcome when he comes to stay with us. Look, he's a nice boy – really, he is – you just need to warm up to him'.

Alex looked into Jerry's pleading eyes and felt an immense guilt flood throughout her entire system – not that she would ever admit to it, of course. 'Okay, whatever' she replied in an non-chalant tone before heading upstairs to take a well-deserved shower. So the dork was coming over on the Weekend, huh? Big deal. It's wasn't as if she was going to talk to him or  
anything – she could easily ignore him. She could even ring Harper up and plan schemes to make his life a misery for the next two weeks. Things would be swell.

On the weekend that Justin arrived, some few days later, he was dropped off in some fancy, luxurious limousine – and Alex saw from the corner of her bedroom window that his mother had for the last 3 minutes been kissing his cheeks against his will. He had sure grown a lot taller since she had last seen him at the wedding. Her stomach did a sudden somersault and she closed her eyes calmly, breaking in heavily.

Memories of that incident suddenly came back to her like a moth to a flame, and a deep feeling of hurt and shame burrowed it's way right inside of her; at the wedding, the minute Justin had finally magicked her down, she did what any girl who had just been thoroughly humiliated in front of everyone would have done: she punched him. Once in the face – where she got him straight in the nose, and right after he'd apologised to her relentlessly, she got him in the stomach. Luckily for her, after that incident, special-op Wizards had been called to the scene and had to wipe the memory of every mortal who had attended the reception – waiters included.  
  
_  
Breathing in heavily once more, Alex opened her eyes and saw that the Limousine had left, which meant that officially, the dork had entered the premises. She sighed loudly, and decidedly went downstairs to greet him before her mother came and forcefully did the deed for her. As Alex slowly reached the living room, she saw everyone hovering over Justin and engaged in livid conversation; he seemed to be entertaining them with his…magic. She scowled at the sight of the thing. _

_'Well, well – if it isn't the boy who can do magic tricks'_ _she sneered bitterly, crossing her arms. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at her. (Strangely enough, to add to the situation, Max had ready-made popcorn in his hands and was munching in excitement – as if this was something to be anticipated. Alex would never truly understand her brother). Justin stopped his trick and put his wand away immediately._

'Alex' said Jerry awkwardly 'You remember Justin, right?'

Before Alex could say anything, her mother gave her a tight smile that silently encouraged her to behave.

'Oh, I sure do' said Alex sarcastically, wrinkling her nose in distaste 'Hi, Justin!'

Justin stared at her nervously; once again, he didn't acknowledge her. And inwardly, it infuriated her. For the next few days on end, Alex completely ignored Justin's presence and continued life as it was without him, which in all honestly - wasn't so easy, since she was just _itching__ to say something to him – anything, be it a compliment, an insult, or just plain conversation. She WANTED to communicate to him… somehow. And for some reason that was beyond her explanation – she still hadn't fully forgiven him for the incident at the wedding._

Later on in life however, she realised she should be more careful for what she wished for in future, considering that one day:

'MOM!' Alex screamed from their small bathroom, glancing back at her blood stained hand. With her stain-free hand, she tightened the towel that was wrapped around her. It wasn't like she hadn't seen this coming – she was 11 for crying out loud…but in retrospect that still didn't mean she was prepared. She was _never __prepared. That was just Alex in a nutshell._

'MOM! –'

'What's wrong?' came the sound of someone from the direction of the guest room. Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance. Geez, of all times for him to finally speak to her…

'That, is none of your concern' said Alex acidly, closing the door more slightly in defence

'It is my concern when you're waking up the whole neighbourhood' he retorted in an annoyed tone, rubbing his eyes.

'Out of all the times – look – just where the heck is my mom? – I need her' demanded Alex angrily, feeling a slight blush creep to her cheeks as Justin stepped closer towards the door, squinting his eyes at the tiles on the bathroom floor as he came closer towards her. With every closing step he took, Alex was getting more and more uncomfortable. She had just gotten her first period, for crying out loud – how embarrassing was _this__…_

'There's blood on the floor, you know…' he informed her seriously after a minute or two, looking into her eyes intensely 'Are you alright?'. Alex felt her heart drop. 

__

'I'm fine' reassured Alex impatiently 'I just need my mom. Will you be a good sport and go get her for me?' she added, hoping he would buy into her fake grin

Justin stared at her blankly for a second or two, before casually leaning up against the corridor wall. He then said in an relaxed tone: 'They left real early this morning to go shopping at some warehouse – all three of them. They tried to wake you, you know, but it seemed you weren't one to budge. A heavy dreamer, I take it?'

Alex sniffed angrily. She really wasn't in the mood to play "happy families" with the _dork__. She had just gotten her first period – for crying out LOUD. 'Great' she muttered to herself in frustration 'Just…great'. As she was about to close the door on him and make-do with toilet paper, a firm hand prevented this from happening, and Alex irritatingly re-opened the door slightly to see a hand holding a pack of…oh dear lord._

'How…h-how' she stuttered in embarrassment as she opened the door a little more to reach out gratefully for the packet of pads. 'How did you know?'. Well, this was a real cringe moment to remember…

'I'm a guy, not a complete moron' deadpanned Justin, obviously unimpressed with her perception skills

Alex's left eye twitched. Seriously, this guy was _insane__. No normal boy his age could possibly be this mature. It was just…weird. But there he was, standing right before her; __completely__ comfortable with the fact that she'd just gotten her menstrual period. Now not even a lot of grown men had that capacity._

'So how did you get a hold of these?' she asked quietly, avoiding his gaze

'Supermarket' Justin replied casually, shrugging.

Alex raised an eyebrow at this.

'But how the hell could you have done that when you were right _here__ all along?' she demanded sharply, throwing him a filthy glare_

'Magic' replied Justin simply, holding his wand up in proof 'There are such things as clones, you know' he added cheekily, before vanishing into thin air. Alex stared into the empty hallway with an expression that equalled that of both confusion and disbelief. Had he…had he smirked at her as he'd vanished?

It later turned out that Justin had tagged along with the other three Russo's earlier that morning, being the real Sir-Dork-A-Lot he was. Nothing much had truly changed between the two of them since "the incident" - they still ignored one another, and Alex bagged him in public, although she was surprised to see that Justin remained strictly tight-lipped about her…well, her "physiological" changes. She smiled at that. It was real…nice of him.  


_The problem still remained, however, that the guy __seriously__ had issues he needed to address_. _No, honestly – what 12 year-old boy in his right mind had an regular 8 hour study routine down-packed and followed __religiously__? Alex absently shook her head at that. He was just too mature for his own good._

_'Let me see…'_

_So naturally, she did the only thing she knew that could capture his undivided attention. She played __pranks__._

x0x

That was the first time Justin had ever stayed under the loud, colourful_, _and unsurprisingly _trouble-prone _Russo household. It also happened to be the first time he was ever laid victim to some of the most abysmal, God-awfully _cringe-worthy_ pranks ever to set foot on the face of the Earth; not that he'd truly minded – just for the record (with _truly_ being the key word in that sentence). The next time he'd ever stay at the Russo household, which turned out to be the summer two years later, happened to be the first time he'd ever stay for the entire summer. It was also the first time he'd ever bring a girl friend over. It was one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

x0x

_Flashback:_

_Alex couldn't believe that Justin now had a girlfriend. The guy was a complete __freak__ – and not to mention the fact that he had an insane knack for studying. STUDYING! Who the heck does that, these days? The guy seriously had issues. Not that she needed reminding, of course – she'd been saying it for the past three years now._

Alex had been working a [reluctant] shift at the Sub Station when Justin first arrived with his girlfriend, Juliet. He hadn't really changed much in the looks department from the last time she'd seen him. He was still the same old nerdy – geeky – dorky Justin. He just so happened to now be nerdy – geeky – dorky Justin with a girlfriend. And for matters that were way beyond her explanation, that concerned her.

He had failed to acknowledge her presence, _yet again__, as he walked hand-in-hand into the restaurant with the pretty blonde-haired girl, who looked so in love with him that Alex felt the urge to regurgitate. Jerry, who was busy behind the counter at the time making sandwiches – had automatically rushed to his son's side to man-hug him fiercely. It had been two whole years since he'd last seen him, after all. Not that it spared Justin any embarrassment in front of his girlfriend all the same. Alex smirked at that.  
_

_' – Oh, and Alex is over there – you should go say hi to her, she's really missed you – ' said Jerry whimsically as he casually motioned over towards where Alex was cleaning tables. She stopped immediately in her tracks. So did he. _

_  
Did Jerry just say what she thought she'd heard? Alex's stomach did a sudden somersault. ___

'Oh, did I just say that?' said Jerry awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head 'Forgive me – wrong kid. I guess that's what constant work does to ya, you agree? What I meant to say was, was that Max has really missed you, buddy –'

Alex, inwardly thankful for the re-phrasal of her step-fathers sentence, continued to work on cleaning the tables.

She felt the sudden urge however to turn around and throw a glare at her oh-so-perfect older step-brother and his oh-so-perfect girlfriend who she figured he would marry in the next few years and built a ginormous castle where they would live happily ever after, the end. It was a thought that made her visibly scowl. When she turned around however, she was surprised to see him already gazing at her in what she gathered was his own, nerd-like form of a glare (it actually turned out he was just "looking" at her). As Jerry unassumingly talked on with Juliet, they locked gazes for what seemed like hours.  
__

Ultimately however, she found she couldn't maintain eye contact with him, and broke the connection. Her heart skipped a beat. This wasn't good. This was far from good.

Over the next few days they went into their usual routine of ignoring one another, even after Juliet's many vain attempts to get Justin to introduce her to Alex: ('Justin – is this your step-sister? – The one you met at your father's wedding?'). Two words: _**epic failure**__. Juliet had seemed like a nice enough girl, and although in real life Alex would have probably not have minded her so much, she had to firmly remind herself that this was Justin's __girlfriend__. Girlfriend – need she say more? And if Justin received the cold shoulder from Alex, so would Juliet.  
_

__

One day however, as Alex walked down stairs towards the living room, she caught sight of the most sickening vision ever to cross her mind. Justin. Kissing Juliet. No wait, scratch that. Justin was not only kissing Juliet – he was practically eating her face. It was a downright hurtful – no wait, she totally took that back, the dork didn't deserve such heart-felt adjectives, she firmly reminded herself – it was a downright _awful__ sight. Alex felt the urge to kick the girl in the face._

'Oh – Alex, we're so sorry' apologised Juliet as they broke apart, giggling at Justin. 'We didn't mean to –'

'Make me want to vomit all over the place?' supplied Alex innocently, crossing her arms. Juliet blinked in surprise. Justin looked downcast towards his feet, nervously fidgeting with his hands.

Alex wasn't usually one who could be provoked so easily. But HE was an exception. So naturally, she played pranks on him from that day onwards. Oh, sweet memory lane.

One day however, Alex had crossed the line, with Justin storming into her room, unannounced, and shoving a dismantled comic book in her face. Captain Jim Bob Sherwood. The first ever edition printed back in 1973. It's Value: priceless. It was right on the night before he was about to leave…

__

'Does this mean anything to you?' he spat venomously, throwing the comic book at her feet. She didn't bother to spare it a second glance.

'Where's Juliet?' Alex asked innocently, hoping to distract him

'Don't. Change. The topic' gritted Justin through clenched teeth. He was practically fuming. Well, so much for a distraction working…

'You have a _wand__, don't you?' said Alex in an bored tone, flicking through her magazine with careful ease 'Can't you just magic it back together? – you know, "a swish and flick"' she added, sniggering_

'That's not the point' Justin pointed out diplomatically, trying to remain as calm as possible in the situation. 'What the point is, is why you would be doing it in the _first__ place' he inquired, promptly crossing his arms._

Alex shrugged. 'It was burning my eyes – you really should leave these things at home, you know' she lied easily, flicking through another page

__

A few moments passed in eerie silence. When Alex finally put her magazine down, she noticed that Justin was now staring at her like she was a complete lunatic. Her heart dropped. She sighed before reluctantly standing up from her bed, ready to make an all-round corny, award-winning apology.

It was then however that for reasons unknown to them both, that Justin did something very un-Justin like. Slowly, he cornered her up against her wall; his left arm resting loftily high up against it; his breathing hard, laboured and rhythmic. Alex inhaled sharply at the sudden intrusion of personal space. They were close. Very close. Almost too close. She shuddered in slight trepidation under his perfect – no wait, she didn't mean that – ah, his…gangly stature; well, this was awkward. Real awkward. Justin however seemed to be oblivious to her discomfort. In fact, he seemed to be oblivious to the entire situation:

'You destroyed my Captain Jim Bob Sherwood volume ONE – because you felt it played some sort of havoc on your _eye-sight__!'_ _he spat disbelievingly, his eyes blinking uncontrollably._

Alex raised her eyebrows at this. Oh, right. It was the comic book they were on about… __

She nodded mock-innocently. He however seemed to be on the verge of tears.

'My Captain JIM BOB!'

'Oh, geez, can you take your dorkiness elsewhere? I actually have a life here' said Alex lazily, pointing to her magazine. She could inwardly feel her heart racing uncontrollably, and her stomach doing somersaults like there was no tomorrow. She really needed to end this, one way or another. Justin however, seemed to beat her to the punch.  
__

'What did I do to make you hate me so much?'

The moment that question had been spoken, the world seemed to stop. Everything went into slow motion, and Alex felt the world gradually getting heavier and heavier. It wasn't just any question that was directed towards her. It was a question that had been spoken with intensity – not just pure curiosity; a question intertwined with emotion so raw that Alex lost her footing in the conversation, blinking for a moment or two. She had to think this through carefully, but it seemed her untamed mouth destroyed any chance of that happening.

'Besides exist?' she retorted naturally, feeling the dire consequences of her actions straight away. Guilt flooded her system as she looked up at Justin, who she saw not only look angry and vengeful. He looked hurt. Crestfallen, even. Alex closed her eyes, right about to form the words of an _second __apology before: _

__

'Ok, look, I honestly don't know what your problem is' said Justin resolutely, lifting his hands in surrender 'I honestly just don't'. Alex stared at him; at a lost for what to truly say. She knew this was a now or never moment, but she just wasn't the type of girl who did apologies – the end. Mischief was in her bones. Not sap stories.

'Good' she finally retorted weakly 'Let's keep it that way'. 

x0x

'You have got to be joking me' Alex deadpanned, her left eye twitching slightly 'Tell me you are joking, mom'.

_She_ knew that matters regarding _he-who-was-hated-with-a-vengeance_ was not something to be tossed around in their everyday conversation, unless it was _that_ time of the month (AN: holidays). It was practically an unwritten law in their household. _Everyone knew that…._

'Oh, relax, Alex, would ya – it's just Justin' said Jerry dismissively, shrugging his shoulders 'It's not as if you two are sworn, bitter enemies or anything'. _…Except Jerry_. Theresa glanced up at her husband a little uneasily. If only he knew the half of it…

'Well then if it's "just Justin" –'said Alex ironically, expressing Justin's name distastefully with quotation marks ' – then why not tell me? – I had to hear it from _Max_, of all people. What am I to you, a door mat?'

'Look, honey it's only temporary – Justin's mom is renovating their home in the Hamptons and he needs a place to stay until that gets done' Theresa reasoned carefully, cautious not to create any loop holes 'Besides, where else do you expect him to go?'

'Oh, I don't know – an animal shelter?' reasoned Alex innocently, which earned her a pointed stare from Jerry. 'Okay, okay, I take that back' she added light-heartedly, casually brushing off her previous statement with a pivotal hand gesture. Inwardly however, Alex felt a strong, unfathomable anxiety creep through her veins. This wasn't good. This was far from good.

It had been three whole years since she last saw Justin Russo. Justin Russo….

The _dork._

**AN: I would like to thank all the reviewers! Your feedback is greatly appreciated! I'll be updating soon…**


	2. A Conversation with Harper

Synopsis: Alex and Justin have never truly gotten along. Even as step-brother and sister. Now what will happen when Justin has to stay with the Russo family for the entire school year?

Title: Lips Like Morphine

Chapter Two: A Conversation with Harper.

Nearly three days had passed since that dull, cloudy Tuesday morning when our plot first unfolded. Approximately: 56 and a half hours, 3390 minutes and 203400 seconds*. Not that anyone in particular was _counting_, of course…

'Alex, in all honesty I think you're over-reacting to the whole situation'

…Aside from a girl named Alexandra Margarita Russo. _Over-reacting_. Now Alex had to literally roll her eyes at that one. It really was only a typicalresponse she would expect from that of her best friend; rational, objective, innocuous, and _infuriatingly_ logical. Gee, and here she was hoping for a little, oh – what was it called again? _**Support.**_

'Harper – you don't know him' Alex tried to reason agonisingly, lethargically clearing scattered dishes off the empty tables at the Sub Station restaurant.

They had both been cleaning up for the past _two hours_ now, with busy customers flowing in and out of the restaurant like there was no tomorrow. Since Harper had been hired by her step-father (Jerry) last month ('Okay – Harper, you can work here. But _only_ on the condition that you convince _Alex _to work _her _shifts as well. Do we have a deal?'), both she and Alex had done more shifts at the restaurant so as to spend more time together. Unfortunately for them, however, by doing this, they got a taste of the real world when they realised that working and spending time together didn't always work out to their advantage. On certain days – like today – for example, the place would get so busy that they wouldn't even have time to speak to one another. But this was no ordinary day. On this particular day, Alex was determined. She wasn't going to let something like a busy _work load _get in her way. She _needed_ to talk to Harper.

'He's a complete…a complete – _Justin_!'

She temporarily stopped in her tracks and frowned precariously at her own lack of creative insight. Over the years though, it had become increasingly more frustrating to describe him in one singular, descriptive word. Unless of course there was a four-way combination possibility of the words: freak, geek, nerd, and _dork._ Yes, _dork _was definitely one of them_._ She smiled to herself a little at that, before brushing the thought away entirely and unenthusiastically continuing to clear her table.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Alex wasn't thrilled with the idea of the Lord of the Dorks staying with them for a year. In fact, she was far from thrilled with the idea. She was practically gobsmacked by the mere _notion _of it. Was she honestly the only one who felt this way? He would be staying for an entire year. An entire _YEAR_ – just what was their place exactly? – A cheap hotel?

Not to mention (oh - it gets better) the little "fact" her loving step-father had oh-so-forgotten to mention beforehand two nights ago: ('Oh – right, I almost forgot to mention this to you Alex: Justin will be going to school with you, isn't that great? Now we don't have to worry about getting you a tutor; _he_ can tutor you – for free!'). To sum things up, long story short, Alex hadn't been impressed with this. _Pissed off_, actually, seemed the more appropriate phrase for it. Jerry, on the other hand, was like a house on fire. She could practically see the stars gleaming from out of her step-father's puppy-dog brown eyes. The _cheapskate_. After nearly six years of living with the man under the same roof, Alex knew by this stage that her step father wasn't too fond of hearing the terms "cash" and "spend" used in the same sentence. Two words: _Oh goody_.

From her respective table, Harper shook her head absently at her best friend's lack of rational judgement, despite the ghost of an amused smile still clearly evident on her face. Although she had personally never met "he-who-was-hated-with-a-vengeance" before on a face-to-face basis – and was certain that at this stage she wasn't in any position to even feel _tempted_ to, there was still an small, miniscule ounce of curiosity left in her naturally bubbly, inquisitive bones to meet the first boy Alex had ever had a…a…well, a _bond_ with. And preferably, she wanted to meet him in one piece.

'Alex, that still doesn't justify leaving a rotten banana under the hidden loose floor board in his bedroom' Harper reasoned insightfully with a reluctant grin, moving around from her now-spotless table (a dish cloth and a bottle of Mr. Muscle firmly in her grasps) to clean the table that Alex had just cleared (with Alex now holding a pile of dirty dishes stacked in both her hands).

Alex couldn't help but sigh in frustration at this. At this point she knew she was fighting a losing battle. As much as she truly loved and respected her best friend for her quirky antics and unconditional loyalty (to which on several occasions of screw up's on _Alex's_ behalf, she had exemplified without further ado), she really should have known better that Harper Finkle was _not_ one to depend on when it came to matters concerning _deception_. Mischief just wasn't in her bones. And it was a pretty darn well-known fact; she was practically the poster girl for "little miss goody two shoes". Alex sighed again. But this time, it was in resignation. She really had no one to blame but herself.

'Besides, from what Max has told me, he actually sounds pretty nice' Harper added distantly, shrugging to herself.

Now that made Alex firmly stop in her tracks (the plates still stacked comfortably in her hands).

'Yes, you believe the wise words of a guy who tries picking fights with a _chair_?' she retorted sarcastically, shooting her best friend an all-round sceptical _are-you-kidding-me_ expression whilst ignoring an elderly woman to her right who was shooting her a tight-lipped, disapproving gaze. 'C'mon, Harper – quit joking around, are you really going to believe the _stuff_ that comes out of his mouth?'

Harper paused. She did have a point there.

x0x

_Flashback:_

'So, I hear your step-brother's going to be staying with you guys' said Harper in a sprightly tone, grinning at Max, who sat on the Russo's orange, eclectic-inspired lounge munching barbarically on Dorito chips. 'Ooh, I'm so excited – this will be my first time meeting him!'

It was true. Harper was excited; she wasn't one to tell lies (she even scoffed at the mere thought of it – oh, she really was the bipolar opposite of her best friend). Over the years, she had heard many – no wait, that would be an understatement – she had heard _countless__ stories of the infamous Justin Russo from the very essence of her best friend, Alex Russo…not all of which were very nice, she had to admit, but this __was__ coming from the mouth of Alex. And she knew better than anybody that Alex wasn't the type of girl who played the "nice" card. She was an __acquired taste__. The embodiment of teenage __rebellion__._

From his position on the couch, Max had paused from watching his television show (National Geographics: Dangerous Encounter's) and side-glanced in her direction, smirking wickedly. Harper felt a sudden chill run down her spine. That was odd, since when did he learn to do _that__?_

'So Alex told you, huh?' he replied casually, throwing a Dorito chip into his mouth 'I bet she's probably already plotting his "eternal downfall", am I right?'

Now that one took Harper off guard. 'I…sorry, what?' she asked tentatively, pulling a thick piece of hair behind her ear. Max's smirk increased. 'Those two have never gotten along' he supplied, shrugging 'And I honestly don't know why, because Justin's a pretty cool dude – minus the whole weird "study-routine" thing he does every time he's over here; I'm just putting that out there' he added, wrinkling his nose at the mention of "study routine".

Harper blinked in surprise. Well, this was all new to her. New…and strange. Strange in the sense that…well, Alex only ever pulled pranks on guys she –

'But you know what?' continued Max, turning around carefully to see if anyone was nearby 'That's what makes them so interesting to watch' he added deviously in a barely-there whisper. Harper raised her eye brows in surprise at this.

'It's like you're watching a silent sitcom when their together – but get this: there's no TV!' he said excitedly, spanning his hands out wide at the awesome revelation 'How cool is that!'

x0x

Oh, great one Max – a _silent sitcom_, thought Harper in an unusually sarcastic fashion, slowly finishing up on her table. That was seriously the last time she was ever going to listen to _him_.  
Having finished up on her table, she turned around almost timidly and gave her best friend a non-committal shrug in response.

'Well, your mom sure thinks he's nice as well' she added in what she hoped would pass off as a casual, non-chalant tone, adding a natural grin for good measure. Unfortunately for her, she was met with silence. _Awkward_ silence, mind you. Harper gulped loudly. She felt a hair rise on the back of her neck. She knew she should have kept her mouth firmly shut. That way, at this point, she probably wouldn't have been on the receiving end of a pair of dangerously narrowed eyes.

Alex clearly wasn't impressed by this. Just what the hell was Harper doing asking everyone about her…err, her…well, _Justin_.

'Oh, so what are you now – interrogating my family about him?' she snapped angrily, the stack of plates now well forgotten in her hands. 'What, Harper? Do you think I'm a _liar_,or something?'

Harper suppressed the urge to scoff at that one. _Oh, Alex…_

'Well…' said Harper light heartedly, bitting her bottom lip in an lop-sided fashion 'Maybe I did do a little teeny bit of background research of my own…'

'Harper!'

'Oh Alex, come on! Relax, it's not such a big _deal_, you know' Harper brushed off light-heartedly, mock-rolling her eyes 'He's just your _step-brother_, not the "big bad wolf". You're acting as if his presence here will put you in pain, or something'.

She wasn't wrong there.

It was then that Harper sobered up as she was quick to notice a sudden change in Alex's loose, lazy-like disposition. That was odd. Very odd. She tilted her head to the side and frowned at the sudden unexpected metamorphosis. Was it something she had said? She continued to eye her best friend quietly with an slightly baffled expression, watching as Alex's body stiffened, and tensed - something that _completely _out of her character. Her eyes were sullenly downcast towards her feet. Her body language dismal. For reasons that were clearly unknown to Harper, her best friend had suddenly gone from easy-going to _melancholic_. She looked down. _Crestfallen_, even.

'Alex, is everything alri – '

Before anything else could be said, however, Alex broke out of her arbitrary trance, and glanced straight up into the honey-brown eyes of her best friend. Her own eyes were fiercely narrowed.

'He's not my step-brother' she finally managed to mutter quietly, before turning her gaze into the direction of _anywhere _but Harper's face. Harper blinked, and looked taken aback by this, unsure of what to do next. As Alex then took this as her leave and moved to cross through the busy crowd of people in the restaurant with the stack of plates in her hands, Harper remained firmly rooted to her spot, clearly still confused with what had just occurred only seconds before. Alex had just told her that Justin wasn't her step-brother. What an odd response; she honestly couldn't rap herself around that one. But that wasn't just it. What was _more_ odd, was the fact that Harper wasn't sure as to whether or not this response was directed at _her_, or if it was directed at _Alex._ There was definitely something Alex wasn't telling her.

Little did she know, however, was that the clues were right there before her very own eyes... She should have been suspicious by this stage. Very suspicious.

Moving through the strong crowd of people with the stack of plates in both her hands, Alex felt the unfathomable urge to slap her forehead. Hard. _Extremely_ hard. She honestly couldn't believe the words that had just escaped her mouth only seconds ago – just what the hell was wrong with her, exactly? _He's not my step-brother. _Just who was she trying to _fool_, with that one? She closed her eyes and breathed in heavily. Whatever this was (it was probably exhaustion - yeah, that could possibly it be it), she would remain well and truly calm no matter what. Calm and Collected _was_ her signature, after all.

As she finally managed to worm her way to the back of the restaurant where Jerry and Theresa were both working furiously ('Honey, I need you to take this to table 29' she distantly heard her mother say to her distractedly, pushing a large plate of chicken, avocado and mayo sandwiches in her direction from the counter bench), by chance (or was it misfortune?), Alex whipped her head around to the front of the restaurant.

Her heart dropped. There, standing outside the restaurant, was the _last _person she wanted to see at this point. The one person who she knew could truly make her life _hell_. There he was, standing outside the restaurant in all his sunshine and glory (AN: sarcasm), casually chatting along with some pretty girl Alex had never set eyes on before. Her eyes widened a little. He had changed. He had _definitely_ changed. Almost simultaneously to that, she felt a familiar adrenaline rush flame throughout her body. She also felt the somersaults she hadn't felt in well over three years now slowly start to creep back. She stood rooted to her spot, now literally gobsmacked.

x0x

_Flashback:_

'Well, at least I'm not a _mortal __– I can do magic!' spat Justin vehemently, wrinkling his nose at her. Alex side-glanced towards him with a blunt expression. To say, at the very least, she wasn't impressed._

'Magic? What, as in "abra cadabra" and "hocus pocus"?' she scoffed sarcastically in response 'Tell me this is a joke, right?' she added lazily, crossing her arms. Well, so much for ignoring him for the rest of the night…

Justin scowled at her. 'It's true! – I'm a wizard!' he cried feverishly, using his free hand to pull out a long, thin piece of pointed wood from his back pocket. 'See!'

'I'm a wizard' mimicked Alex snidely 'Please. Anyone can carry a wand, dork' she added, sniggering

'But not everyone can do _magic__' whispered Justin smugly, eyeing her down intensely. A sudden chill ran down Alex's spine. Was he…was he smirking at her?_

For reasons that may well be left in the hands of the fates, it was right then and there at that obscure, uninhibited moment that Alex felt for the very first time in her life a quick, sudden somersault form in the pits of her stomach. Being Alex however, she decidedly ignored this (for all she knew, it could have been indigestion or something). Visibly, she rolled her eyes at his nonsense.

'Yeah, well you know what? The day you do magic, dork, is the day _I'll__ kiss you'  
_

x0x

She dropped the plates in her hands.

x0x

***In the first chapter, it was 8am in the morning, and by this chapter, it's 4:30pm in the afternoon, so you do the math! lol (And if I got it wrong, well, maths was never my strong suit, so there) **

**AN: tbh, I didn't really enjoy writing this chapter. To me it was pretty boring lol, but it was necessary, I guess. Anyways, I'm sorry for making Alex sound like such a **_**negative**_** person and everything, and I'm working on making her more bearable without taking her completely out of character. I hope you all look forward to the next chapter, because the next chapter is where Justin re-enters the scene. ;) btw, what do you think about Harper and Max together? I know it's a bit random (and I guess a little weird)…but they're both pretty random characters on the show, and when I watched an episode from season 3 for the first time, I guess gears started turning in my head.**

Anyways, I'd like to give a warm shout out to:

Not Just A Nerd  
ilovedisney128  
Dontcallmesweetie  
xxJulezpxx

My first 4 reviewers! Cheers!

Wiki, xoxo 


	3. Justin Russo

Synopsis: Alex and Justin have never gotten along. Even as step-brother and sister. Now what will happen when Justin has to stay with them for the entire year?  
**  
**

Title: Lips Like Morphine

Chapter Three: Justin Russo

The sound of the shattering of the plates seemed to amplify throughout the restaurant, with practically every person, place and thing within a five metre radius able to hear the coherent shattering of the ceramic tableware. Alex froze amicably in her spot, taking a second or two to look around the over-crowded room. Well, this was…awkward. It seemed everybody had nothing better to do with their lives other than to _stare_ at her. She quickly looked back towards the front of the restaurant. He wasn't there. He was gone. And so was the tramp that was with him. _Was I…hallucinating?._ Taking note of this, she then looked back towards the crowd and a quick, mischievous smile dawned on her face. At this point she had to make up something to cover for her inane accident. Fast.

'Oh, don't mind me, everyone -' she brushed off in a jaunty, reassuring tone, '- my family and I -'she added, gesturing between herself and Jerry and Theresa, '-We're…_Greek_, you see, so, you know, the whole "dropping the plates" thing - it's really a family _custom_'.

To further support this claim, she wormed herself through a nearby couple, grabbed a clean, about-to-be-used plate from a closely occupied table and promptly dropped it in the same spot as her previous accident. 'See?' she said eagerly, gesturing vigorously towards the plates 'Oh-pa!'. _Excellent, they're buying it! Or should I say, Excell__ente__. No, wait a minute…that's not Greek…  
_

As everyone eventually resumed their previous activities, having lost interest in her, Alex smiled at her own creative genius before turning back towards her parents with a wide, satisfied grin (yes, if it hadn't already been figured out up until this point, she accepted Jerry as her "father figure". She always _had_, to be honest - but that wasn't to say she had any intention of ever telling him - she _did_ have a reputation to uphold, after all), who she saw weren't exactly impressed (furious, actually, seemed a better way of articulating it - but hey, they couldn't do anything to her yet, they were tied to making "classy" sandwiches and working the "formidable" cash register) with her little "stunt" - oh well, they were never really the type of people to appreciate pure genius when it stared them right in the face, anyway.

She looked over towards Harper and caught her eye with a shifty grin, wiggling her eye brows for extra measure at her misdemeanour. In return however, she was given a reluctant, if not, timid smile (Harper was still was mentally preoccupied with their previous conversation). What? - Not even a look of disapproval? _That's weird_.

As she then leant down to lethargically pick up the shattered pieces of ceramic - some of which were fairly large (and the other, smaller pieces of which she would later on collect with a small duster and collector), one of three mysterious and irrevocably strange things occurred. The first, was the sudden and abrupt disappearance of the (shattered) plates. She blinked once. Okay, now that wasn't right. It definitely wasn't right. But then again, maybe this all had to do with the whole "exhaustion thing" she had been thinking about beforehand. Maybe it really was creeping up on her - someone could have arguably already picked up the pieces without her noticing (and this was why thinking too hard was not her forte).

And to add to that, she had had a tough day at school today (there was Mr. Laritate: 'Miss Russo, this is the fourth time I have caught you skipping our morning announcements - in my office, now! Oh, and by the way, I really need to thank you for persuading the students of the Happy Helpers Club into letting me call them my "posse", you did a _great_ job - ', Harper: 'Alex! _There_ you are! - Guess what? - Josh from science just asked me out on a date, how exciting is that! Ooh, I need you to help me plan my outfit! You see, I was thinking of sewing up a dress with actual "dates" on it, although -', and even her friend, Dean: 'Hey, Russo, you wanna catch a movie with me this weekend? - I hear that Eclipse movie is _pre-tty_ good'). Not in the slightest, Dean. They had already gone down _that _road. 

She blinked twice. Yep, they were definitely gone, alright. She looked back towards her parents, who she saw were busily making/handing out orders without a second to spare, and  
up towards Harper, who was now working around the front of the restaurant clearing out randomly scattered dishes; a look of deep contemplation sketched on her face. Alright, so it wasn't any of them. Maybe…Max? Alex scoffed at the mere thought of that. _Oh, I crack myself up sometimes_. Since when did her younger brother ever engage in any form of physical labour? - Aside from disastrous sandwich attempts, that was? (One of which even once featured week-old chicken bones, plum jam, honey, brussels sprouts and a hefty amount of Australian _vegemite_). Alex shuddered at the disturbing recollection. Okay, so it definitely _wasn't_ Max. So who was it, then?

Ignoring the improbability and borderline paranormal-related doing of her situation, she looked onto the second strange occurrence, which, by the way - on any other given occasion, she wouldn't have noticed in a million years; the ground floor at the Sub Station restaurant - previously a creamy sky-blue colour - had suddenly turned a luminous pearl-white shade. Alex stared at it strangely. It was even…sparkling, somewhat. _Okay…now that's just __weird_. What, had their ground floor secretly been bitten by a vampire?

The third occurrence, happened as the restaurant suddenly - out of nowhere - pin pointedly turned deathly silent. No gossiping. No aimless chitter chatter. Not even an unproductive _sigh_. It was as if someone in the universe who owned a universal remote that controlled all living organisms in existence had randomly pressed the mute button. Alex glanced up. As she glimpsed up and looked around the restaurant, she unexpectedly saw with her very own eyes that everyone in the over-crowded room had not only gone deathly silent - they had in fact _frozen_ in their respective spots; Jerry (one hand on the lettuce, and the other on a slice of dark wholemeal bread), Theresa (grinning whimsically at an middle-aged customer; one hand on the cash register, and the other holding out a $20 note), Harper (who had her back facing her) - _everyone_. It was like looking upon random wax figures in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Alex felt a faint shiver run down her spine. Okay, now someone was _seriously_ messing with her head.

'Harper…?' said Alex desperately in the direction of her best friend, half-expecting her to come back to "life". To her great disappointment, she didn't.

'I believe these are yours' came a familiar voice from behind her.

It was _him_.

A small gasp escaped from Alex at the sudden outburst, and she quickly whipped her body around to find herself in the direct presence of Justin Vincenzo Pepe Russo himself. Justin Russo, that was, who was standing coolly before her holding a stack of seven clean, previously shattered alabaster-coloured plates in his hands; a warm, welcoming smile etched on his handsome face.

_  
Oh…My…God…_

Almost instinctively, Alex took a step back (paying close attention not to bump into an unfortunately sized man to her right) and inhaled sharply. That was it - she was officially _not _"exhausted". Involuntary goosebumps formed on her arms (it was a bit chilly in the restaurant, after all). Her stomach flipped over (indigestion, it was). And million thoughts and feelings rushed throughout her entire system (…she could come up with some justification for that later). This was…_way_ too sudden for her liking. And as if to add insult to injury, much to her chagrin, she gulped loudly, and felt a slight pink hue taint her olive cheeks.

There _he _was…standing right before her.

And she honestly hadn't been lying when she said he'd changed. No longer was the nerdy - geeky- dorky pretence that was her…_stepbrother_ standing before her. Although to Alex's recollection Justin had always been a pretty tall guy, his height now was just plain ridiculous. Man, was he tall. He practically towered over her - and in her defence she wasn't all that short, either. Also, it was obvious he had paid a well-needed visit to the hairdressers; his hair - still as dark and raven as the day she had met him, now sported a short, chopped fringe (AN: His hairdo in Season 3) that suited his bone structure nicely - not that she would ever admit to that, though. She would rather burn at the stake. She also noticed that his physique had changed a heck of a lot as well. Alex could see through his "dork-wear" (probably the one thing that he hadn't changed - oh well, she really couldn't imagine him in any other get-up. Once a dork - _always_ a dork, even _if_ he tried changing otherwise) that he was actually well toned.

Unwittingly poking out from Justin's back jean pocket, Alex caught a small glimpse of his all-too-familiar thin, pointed wand. She scowled at the sight of the thing.

Of course, she should have known. _Magic_. This was all the doing of _magic_.

Luckily, she managed to pull herself together. Calm and collected _was_ her signature - after ALL.

'Well, if it isn't _Merlin's_ apprentice -' said Alex in a snarky tone, crossing her arms in an authoritative manner. She inwardly applauded herself on the ability to pull insults out of the bag so quickly. She had to hand it to herself - she really had a gift. '- I should have known'  
_Let's see you act all nice now…_

For the second time that day, however, to her great disappointment, Justin's smile never faltered. 'Gee, it's good to see you too, Alex' he replied coolly, watching as her expression gradually changed from childishly smug to pivotally annoyed. (AN: In this story, I'm not going to give Justin's POV. I really want his inner thoughts to remain "mysterious") 'It's been what - three years, or so, now?'

Alex's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had just_ acknowledged_ her - and without even _trying_, too. This wasn't the dork she'd remembered from three years ago. The dork she remembered wouldn't have acknowledged her - he would have easily walked straight past her without even a preliminary: "Hello" or a customary: "How's it going?" and would have gone straight up to his bedroom (AKA the guest room) where he would have engaged in pathetic nerdy/geeky/dorky activities without further ado for the rest of his entire visit. Well, unless of course, she pranked him. And to _add_ to that - they hadn't exactly parted on good terms, either (after all, she _had_ destroyed his favourite and undeniably invaluable comic book out of pure spite). What was his game, exactly? - Why was he acting all…nice and…normal and…_cool_?

_Had three years really changed him that much?_

'Well, I can't really say the same for myself, _dork_' she retorted contemptuously, rolling her eyes at him 'I've been dreading this day for the past three years - this whole, having to see _you_ again' she added lazily, pointing a finger around aimlessly in his direction.

Justin stared at her somewhat sceptically. 'And I see you haven't changed. _At all_' he deadpanned, unimpressed with her troublesome attitude.

x0x

_Flashback:_

'-Yeah, Maxie's a good kid, he's just...a little strange. I mean that in the nicest possible way, though' said Justin sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

'Hmm, he sounds interesting' said Juliet coolly, smiling sweetly.

'You say that now…' muttered Justin to himself comically, tilting his head to the side a little 'Alright, so that leaves one last person'.

'Oh yeah, who's that?' said Juliet, now resting her chin on her best friend's shoulder.

Although they were only just friends, she and Justin shared a close and special friendship with another - a seemingly unconventional friendship, and one that had its fair share of misunderstandings, especially when it came to the spectators on the outside. People on the streets often mistook them as a couple, and she didn't blame them - not with the way _they __way they acted around one another, and it didn't bother her one bit, because she knew what she and Justin had, and although she knew they shared something special, she was already irrevocably in love with a certain __werewolf__ she hadn't seen in well over a century now (she was immortal, after all - she __was__ a Vampire), but that wasn't to say she was giving up on him. She knew he would come back for her one day. And was glad that Justin understood. More importantly, she was glad he felt the __same__ way. But what she was even more glad about, was the fact that she was still important enough to him for him to invite her to meet his family. Well, his father's side, that was._

'Alex' deadpanned Justin, groaning miserably

'Oh - the one you met at the wedding, and...' said Juliet brightly '...and had a little quarrel with' she added flatly

'Argument, Juliet' corrected Justin 'We had an _argument__'._

'Really, Justin?' said Juliet sceptically, throwing him an incredulous look. Was this really the time to be correcting her?

'Hey - she started it - ' justified Justin boisterously (completely missing her point) 'She was the one who _insulted__ my __action __figures, brushed off my confession to her that I was a __wizard__, and then - '. Justin stopped mid-sentence and looked downcast towards his feet; his face now as red as a tomato. Juliet frowned at this, although wisely held her tongue and waited patiently for her best-friend to continue:_

'I honestly don't know what her "problem" is; I _try __and I __try__ to be nice to her but she's...she's a __nightmare__' he finally confided in an exasperated tone, running a frigid hand through his thick hair._

'Justin, calm down - ' said Juliet reassuringly, patting him on his other shoulder ' - there's probably a logical explanation for this, I'm sure'.

'Oh, I don't think so ' said Justin in a dull tone, sighing 'Not when it comes to _her__. Did I ever mention to you the last time I visited Waverly Place she sabotaged my room with hidden fart bombs while I went downstairs to make me a sandwich? - And not only was it that - it was on the very day grandma came and stayed with us! - She had to sleep in __my__ room. After that, she wouldn't look at me for a __week__'._

'You've mentioned it four times, now, Justin' said Juliet coolly with an amused smile on her face. Justin sighed at his best friend's cool and relaxed demeanour, although allowed himself a small grin.

'Yeah, well that should be more than enough evidence to properly conclude that she hates me' he said with a tone of finality, loosening his tense shoulders.

'Well, it's not like she remembers what happened at the wedding, or anything?' said Juliet offhandedly, quirking her mouth to one side.

'She shouldn't' said Justin distractedly in a matter-of-fact tone 'I mean, she knows I'm a "Wizard" and all - they all do, but after the "incident, there were special OP wizards called in. Every mortal had their memory wiped - including _hers__, there were no exceptions'._

x0x

'Why would I?' scoffed Alex, throwing him an incredulous look 'Sorry, I think you have me mistaken for someone who actually gives a damn about what others think of me. _Followers_ change -' she added firmly, giving him a pointed nod ' - not _me_. I make my own decisions'.

'Is that so?'

To her surprise, Justin grinned in what she presumed was his own, sick and revoltingly twisted form of amusement. 'I wonder if that's a good, or a bad thing, then' he mused out loud, shrugging his shoulders 'I mean, let's face it - if you haven't changed, which you have just clarified to me that you haven't, then you're probably still that lazy, apathetic of a slacker I have to call my step-sister'.

Unwittingly, Alex froze at the mention of the unmentionable word. _Stepsister_. That's right, she was his Stepsister. It seemed over the years she had almost forgotten what _she _actually was to _him_. She noticed that Justin seemed to tense up at the mention of it too, cleverly shifting his gaze uncomfortably towards the plates in his hands. Perhaps he had sensed her discomfort…?

'I am not lazy' she finally denied lazily, blatantly ignoring the irony of her articulation.

'Right, and I'm the _Pope_' scoffed Justin with a sarcastic roll of the eyes, looking back up towards her with a mischievous glint in his eye 'You could've fooled me with that one, _sis_' he added cunningly, smirking in his ever-so-ostentatious amusement.

Alex's left eye twitched in irritation. Did he just…? Yes, _he_ did. Oh, he was asking for it, alright. He was practically **begging **for a death sentence. '_Sis…_?' she reiterated in a deadly tone, raising an eyebrow up at him, her arms now unfolding and landing gracefully on her slender hips 'You think…I'm your: "_sis_?"'.

He nodded mock-innocently. She however seemed to be on the verge of an cataclysmic explosion.

'I wouldn't _dream_ of having _you_ as my brother!' she snarled, sniffing angrily 'You _dork_! - you…you…I can't believe - you're a headache for me to even _think_ about!' she added in a bluster of vivid hatred and contempt and all these other emotions she couldn't pinpoint at that moment. She mentally cursed herself for her sudden onset of _word salad_. Geez, of all times…

Justin stood his ground coolly, and seemed unfazed by her disastrous proclamation of hatred. In fact, he seemed rather indifferent to it, instead studying her with the slightest of curiosities and interest. _Is he…analysing me?_

'Naww' he interjected in a mock-like tone, cocking his head to the side a little 'How sweet' he added, allowing his smirk to widen 'She _thinks_ of me'.

Alex's eyes widened comically at the unexpected response and she coughed heftily on her own saliva. Okay, now he had definitely caught her off guard with _that_ one. She honestly hadn't seen that coming. And it was quite obvious too, as:

'I do _not_!' she practically shrieked, having now - officially - lost her cool. _Good going, Alex_, she thought to herself in an unusually berating, reprimanding fashion. _Fall __straight__ into his trap, why don't ya. _

She may not have been _book_ smart like some people (or nerdy/geeky/dorky, for that matter - she was just saying), but she was definitely _street _smart, and she knew that right about now:

'Denial is not another river in Egypt, _Alex_' said Justin smugly, raising his eyebrows in his devious amusement (the plates still stacked in his hands).

She had fallen straight into his palm. And there it was. The comeback that was meant to be _hers_.

It was funny how after six years of ignoring/fighting/ignoring/fighting with one another, how easily they managed to fall into a flow of easy conversation…

Alex sniffed angrily. Who knew in three year's time the _dork_ could acquire a sense of _wit_? That was _her_ area of expertise. Not his.

'You're still just as pathetic as the day I met you' she snapped frustratingly, wrinkling her nose at him '_Dork_'.

'And you're still just as annoying and troublesome as the day I met _you_ - ' retorted Justin in his own merciless amusement ' - but let's try and get along, shall we? - for _family's_ sake' he added, trying to remain in good grace. 

'Not. Likely' Alex gritted through clenched teeth. That was it, this conversation was now officially over. From this day forward, she was going to make his life pure and utter _hell_. '- And give me _that_ - 'she added brusquely, snatching the plates from his firm grasps '- those were perfectly fine until _you_ showed up'.

Justin cocked his head to the side in question. 'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked innocently, trying to keep a straight face. It was undeniable. Even after three years of absence from her life - he still knew how to push her buttons right to the very deepest of cores. _And he isn't even aware he's the only one who can do it!_

Alex glared venomously at him.

'It means...' she blustered, trying to think of a cover-up lie '…nothing' she clarified resolutely, raising her eyebrows to further emphasise her point 'Now, if you don't _mind_' she added impatiently, motioning for him to clear up the spell he had imposed on the restaurant and everyone inside of it.

Justin stared graciously at her for a second or two, before: 

'Alright, fine then' he agreed, pulling out his long, pointed wand from his back jean pocket. He promptly cleared his voice, taking a second or two longer than he needed and smiled innocently at Alex (who in her defence was glaring deadly daggers at him) before waving his wand carelessly in the air and coolly chanting:

_'Do as Alex Russo commands, which is as it was, before it got out of hand'_.

And just like that, everything resumed as it was before. Sights, sounds, smells. _Plates_. Alex boisterously looked down towards her hands to find seven perfect alabaster-coloured plates still within her ever-so-welcoming grasps. She grinned widely. It was as if the she'd never dropped them in the first place.

'Right about now, I think you owe _me_ a thank-you'

**AN: Aha! The tables have turned! lol Well, that was Chapter Three of Lips like Morphine. I sure hope everyone liked it! I'm probably going to edit it like a gazillion times from the time I post it (like I mentioned up top and like I've done for the previous two chapters - for people have already read the first two chapters, I would probably suggest you re-read them, because I tend to change details. A lot.), because I pretty much rushed through this chapter, but that's the general gist of it. You can tell I sorta favour Justin, right? lol**

Random Notes: Man, writing and editing is **hard work****. I honestly don't know how some people on this site can update so fast - they're literally like, superheros to me =/. Also, I'm thinking of doing a cross-over with Sonny with a Chance! OMG, man - I'm a big Sonny x Chad fan right now, and ever since I watched the 'Falling for the Falls Part One' episode last night, yup, I'm officially addicted! So Sonny's goanna feature! =]**

To the Reviewers:

Dontcallmesweetie - Uhh, well at this point I think one of the reasons Alex dislikes Justin is because she's confused (and I mean REAL confused) and a little in denial about how she truly feels about him (there's another reason too, which is hinted in the first two chapters, but I'll reveal that later on). In my original plan for the story, I was going to have Alex come to terms with her feelings for Justin early on, but I sorta re-wrote the first chapter because I thought I could relate to her more with the whole "I think I hate him but really I'm sorta in love with him" kind of thing. **Oh, and about the whole "kiss" thing - haha, there's more to that flashback to come, so it's not entirely over. I'm really glad you liked my second chapter btw, cause I personally didn't really like it very much, so THANK YOU. Your review really made my day, hun! X0**

**iheartdisney128 - Yeah, I kind of figured they would be weird together. But I REALLY think they would be cute together! Thank you for your reviews btw, OH - and I'm really liking your story "Baby, It's Fact". OMG - it's fantastical. X0  
**  
**Not Just A Nerd - Wow, I feel so honoured by you saying you actually like my story,  
(haha yeah, I know, I'm so lame, but I personally really enjoyed reading "Dollhouse", I think it's one of the best of the Jalex batch).** **I know the second chapter didn't have much Jalex in it, but I guess it was a transitional chapter, or whatever they call them - it had to be done, dude. Anyways, thank you for your constructive criticism and reviews, tis' most appreciated! X0**

** Zaria Z - Naww, THANK YOU, hun! I really felt on top of the world by your review. You are truly too kind.** **I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter (fingers crossed! Lol).** **X0**  
**  
Mysterygirl123 - Thanks for your review! X0**

**Wiki, xoxo**


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